Church tax ‘out of date and not fit for purpose’

As far as I was aware we do not have death duties/inheritance tax in Guernsey – I think indeed we advertise that fact to newcomers to the island – it makes it very attractive to live here until you realise this ‘take’ will happen unless you have all the money in property, in which case they cannot lay claim to it.

Indeed I was advised to bring my mother’s affairs here for that very reason in 2010 when she came to live in a nursing home on the island.

I was very curious and so after some investigation – it was hard to get answers, the court were tight-lipped and my own findings left me not a little upset – I went to see the Dean. He told me it was a law and I had to pay.

He also told me that the amount charged is a service charge.

A service charge is a set fee for a service, not a percentage of the total with no cap. So cloak and dagger and totally unnecessary.

If there is nothing to hide there is no reason to be so secret. Openness and honesty is the best way, but I did not find that at all.

I do not follow a religion and struggle to understand why this should be happening.

The island is increasingly secular, so I am at a loss to understand why this practice still happens – it was changed in Jersey many years ago as it was deemed not fit for purpose.

The C of E has collected this ‘tax’, for a while now, and in the last 10 years alone it has accrued a minimum of £6.5m. of our money, which then goes neatly into the ‘Deanery Fund’. It somewhat bizarrely has charitable status – I have never known a charity to gain funding by ‘taking’ money, rather than it being donated willingly. I think If I did that, I would be locked up – but somehow this is okay because it is protected by an ancient and outdated (my opinion, of course) law.

I used to be the Association of Guernsey Charities chairman and this is a new one on me.

The funds are then distributed by the church to projects as they see fit, many of them great institutions, but others for the benefit of the church such as £220,000 on rectory repairs and £257,000 on a building – to name but a few...

I have spoken to a number of friends, around 20, about this and only three of them knew anything about it at all.

I have also spoken to one retired advocate friend of mine and he told me he challenged it a while back and thinks it is quite incredible and quite wrong that it still goes on.

In addition, most people carry out this duty while grieving and so maybe do not see things so clearly at that point – but I am sure if some people on this island who have large estates were to plan they would be horrified to discover what could happen.

On opening the Guernsey Press recently I saw an article that had me questioning once more. Who knew before that HSC pays £26,000 towards funding hospital chaplaincy? I most certainly didn’t. I understand it is being reviewed.

I question why our taxes should be paying for C of E chaplains? They appear to have more than enough money to do so themselves.

If this is another case of ‘its always been that way’, then surely it needs to be reviewed completely.

What about all the other religions we have on the island, and indeed the people who are not religious?

I recently had one of the chaplains appear at my door just after I had emerged from an anaesthetic – not requested, just arrived.

In this 21st century, ‘its always been that way’ is not good enough anymore.

This antiquated tax is out of date and not fit for purpose and I am sure the necessary service could and should be carried out by the Greffe.

SARAH GRIFFITH MBE,

Le Petit Menage,

La Gibauderie,

St Peter Port,

GY1 1XP.